I’m a black man in America. No one expects anything of me; I’ve been told this. As a black person the only thing worse than other people not expecting anything of you is you choosing to believe that narrative. The problem is that narrative is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If your base line is no one thinks you can do anything, then you do something they said you couldn’t do, all they are going to do next is rationalize that you doing something isn’t impressive and in fact the thing you did must have been easy because it’s impossible that someone like you could do something challenging or extraordinary.
The weaponization of the soft bigotry of low expectations is the world not giving a fuck what you do because no matter what you do the bottom line is you are the one doing it, and people just don’t like you enough. What’s insulting about this reality is when you’re no longer in your 20s, so you’re not that naive anymore, and your inherent youthful luck has run out. Who is encouraging you to find a reason to keep living? I don’t know if not taking your own life is courageous or cowardice but at the end of the day if you’re still alive you have to figure out what you’re going to do on a daily basis for the rest of your life.
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